Seacrest Wolf Preserve — Attraction in Chipley

My husband and I had a wonderful experience visiting the wolves. It was something that we had been meaning to do for 8 years and finally did it for my birthday. If this is something you have been on the fence about doing, don’t hesitate, it’s truly a wonderful experience and unlike any other you will have in your lifetime seeing animals that are so beautiful and sacred, the wolves were truly a sight to behold. The VIP tour was incredibly worth it, and the tour guides were kind and patient and very chill and laidback. They honestly felt more like the wolves extended family than tour guides lol. The wolves were charming and entertaining and glorious to witness with so much personality and character.

The only feedback I have is the following: if you’re going to visit, try to visit in the fall, winter or spring. The truth is that visiting in the summer is really hot and the wolves are not used to hot weather, not biologically anyways, and when we came to see them they were pretty tired, lethargic and more down tempo. I honestly felt bad they were struggling with the heat lol, I could tell all they wanted to do was rest. We were told in the fall or spring or winter they are more upbeat and energetic and excited to come out since the weather is cooler. If I had to come again I would come back when it’s cooler.

my feedback to the tour guides: you were amiable and lovely and I could tell you really loved the animals which is most important. We a few so grateful for the experience. However remember that people are paying top dollar to come see these wolves and sometimes from far away. I don’t know if the tour guides we had were the regular guides but I think I would gently suggest refining your social skills and working on some more conversational or teaching abilities. I often felt like they didn’t speak unless spoken to and even though I love asking questions, sometimes it’s nice to be taught and not have to be the one to get the conversation going by asking questions. I would have appreciated a beautiful and well rounded thorough education on the wolves and wolf knowledge for what I paid and all the effort behind traveling to come see them. I did kinda feel like I was carrying the conversation unless I asked questions. For a two hour private tour, I do believe there could have been more knowledge and education and a teaching experience behind the encounter. Also definitely more pictures and being on top of capturing good moments. If you’re going to ask people to surrender their ability to capture photos, you gotta meet them halfway and step it up with the picture taking. And, it was still worth every penny just to see the wolves. Just my two cents.

This is a side note but it has to be said. please also figure out the stray dog situation. As a newcomer who was there to enjoy their time seeing the wolves, it was honestly a little hard to enjoy the moment fully every time I went to the bathroom seeing the really skinny stray puppy begging for love and food. Please find him a home or report the owner. I know yall are doing your best with what you can but it definitely affected the experience. Hopefully someone can adopt him or help him out or make him the mascot or something and take him in. And to the woman who yelled after me when I fed him said “ he doesn’t belong here so don’t feed him”, I get it, AND honestly not even the wolves belong there. They belong in the wild. Humans don’t belong there. Who really belongs here? It was a moot point and I felt it was unkind. Here’s there now, just like humans and the wolves, so help him, and have some compassion. Or adopt him. Just do something. It was a little heartbreaking.

Otherwise, the center itself was beautiful and amazing and the wolves are really well treated and cared for, it was an amazing experience to meet them that nearly brought...

I went to this place a little under two years ago, and at the time chose not to leave a review because I wanted to pretend the trip was special, but honestly, it was a huge disappointment and I’m embarrassed I took my husband here. I had purchased a gift certificate in the amount needed for two entries as a Christmas gift to my husband. Four months later, we decided to go for his birthday.

Because the cost of tax wasn’t factored into our gift certificate (not my problem- as many years as this facility has been operating even before I ever visited, they should have figured out this process by now), the owner tried to pressure one of her staff into charging us extra to cover the tax, which wouldn’t have been an issue except the employee stated if he did that, we’d be charged more than if we had never bought the gift certificate and had just paid when we got to the facility instead. This is when I should have asked for a refund and gone to the beach. But I stayed because my husband loves wolves, and we stood awkwardly at the counter for almost ten minutes while the employee was working out a way to charge us the exact amount for the taxes without making us overpay. That entire time, the woman who owns it berated him for not overcharging us and then had a rude comment to me about waiting four months to use the gift certificate. I really wish I had demanded a refund from this narcissistic woman and just gone to the beach instead.

The employee was successful in charging us the correct price, so we stayed, and things only got more disappointing. The owner was verbally abusive to her employees the entire time she was present. Additionally, after making us wait an hour to get into the preserve and another hour to get an enclosure set up for pictures with the wolves, the owner then began to sass visitors for not immediately running into the enclosure so she could get the photo portion of the tour over and done with. I’m physically disabled and I’m also not going to run in an enclosure where there is an animal who is, by the staff’s own admission, likely traumatized after being forced to stay at this place with no kind of protection during a nearly category 5 hurricane prior to our visit.

The wolves themselves were terrified of visitors and seemed downtrodden in general, and the small animals enclosure was more a prison than anything else.

While there was definitely at least one staff member who seemed to care about the animals there and put her heart into educating about wolves, this preserve felt more like a dog show hosted by a narcissist than a facility meant to care for animals. Save your money and go to the...

The good: Our tour guide was very friendly, knowledgeable, and answered and asked for questions. There are many complaints about the owners, but there was no sight of either on the tour. We sat in the grass and were approached by each wolf in some kind of way, most of the time by licking our chin, which is very friendly. My family and I didn't mind it simply because we have spent the last two weeks standing in hour long lines in 100 degree weather in Disney. There are complaints about family views, but the only time this came into question was when our guide used it as a parallel to the family structure of wolf packs. It's political in the way they feel strongly about conservation, which is understandable... it's a wildlife conservation after all. This is an educational experience. If you're interested in simply playing with wolves, it's not a place for you. You do get wolf time, but you also get behavioral background, scientific facts, and an overall understanding of pack dynamics. Pictures ($30) gift shop ($14 for a mug, $20 for a shirt) and concessions (burger, chips, drink $7) are extremely reasonable. I disagree with it about being about the money, because the staff seem to love it there and the wolves seemed happy. Some people complain about the rules, but they explain as to why they have them in place. Phones can quite literally kill the wolves, and misplaced items are hazards. Some say the staff were lingering or strict, I don't think these people understand that these wolves are wild animals domesticated. Wolves are already cautious of humans, and we are strangers petting and taking pictures of them. Another thing is that people complain about the puppies being taken away by day ten, but when explained, it actually isn't cruel. This is what makes it possible for the wolves to be able to stand and trust humans. They are reintroduced the pack at an older age, and this is fine because wolves will accept any pups into their packs. Our group wasn't too big, about 100, and everyone got to pet and hug a wolf. The only downside of the entire thing is that the volunteers were struggling to keep the wolves going where they needed to be. They were baited by pinches of raw meat. A more effective way would be positive reinforcement by clicker training, which would help them out and the tour immensely. I think, to make the volunteers' life easier, they should look into this. Also, they should look into older staff. A lot of young teenagers (13-15ish) were controlling the wolves, doing the lines, and guiding animals. They should trade with the adults in the concession stands...